A Look at the Critical Bibliography of Shiite Sociology

“Critical Bibliography of Shiite Sociology” is a book in which the authors deal with the Shiite religion from a sociological point of view and with regard to the works published during the last seven decades. In each of the eight chapters of the book, the authors have examined one of the practical social issues of religion. In each chapter, one of the most investigative research articles is divided into topics according to characteristics such as the sociological study, the volume of the article, and the applicability of the postscripts. Due to the nature of group writing, the book does not have the necessary coordination in terms of content and subject matter. The authors of the book have tried to address the Shiite religion not from a theological, philosophical or jurisprudential point of view, but from its social aspect and the effects it has on society and cohesion among the people. The eight chapters of the book are as follows: Social History; Clericalism and Religious Authority; Politics and Power; Art, Literature, and Culture; Rites; Mysticism and Sufism; Religious Places and Pilgrimage; Expectation and Mahdism (Mahdawiyya). The method used in this work should be considered as a documentary and hermeneutical method in which the authors of various articles have further described their perceptions of a book and its content.